Domesticated?
by SomuchSarcasm
Summary: Trying my hand at my own Dragon/Puppy story. The taming of borderline psychotic dragons...  *Yaoi*


_AN: Hey! It's long, but I couldn't find a cut-off point. There's some OOCness I'm thinking, but not too much. Thanks to all the authors whose stories helped me think this up and finally: Disclaimer – I pwn :D but not Yu-gi-oh._

When Yugi opened his bar's front door that afternoon he was surprised to see Kaiba, his lover's rival turned partner, standing on the doorstep. What was even more surprising was that the tall white dragon had a squirming, whining blonde puppy in his grasp.

To the extent of Yugi's knowledge and he had known Kaiba for a considerable period of time, the other dragon disliked animals almost as much as his own lover did.

Kaiba was glaring at Yugi while the other was staring at the bizarre scene on his doorstep with surprise evident on his face. "Are you going to stand there all day?" He finally snapped. Yugi kept looking at him, his expression changing into one of tranquillity. "Well, it is my doorstep Kaiba," he replied mildly. Kaiba's eyebrows drew even closer to each other, intensifying the look in his single blue eye.

"May I come in Mutou?" He finally ground out and Yugi smiled slightly as he stepped aside. "Of course Kaiba, although Yami is not here." Kaiba stepped past him into the cool interior of his shop and dropped the squirming animal unceremoniously onto the ground. The puppy yelped and scampered past Yugi to hide behind what he had immediately recognised as a promising haven. Yugi looked at the pup that had grabbed the hem of his shirt and was currently glaring at Kaiba, brave now that he was sure that he was safe. Yugi couldn't resist. "Kaiba, who's this?"

Kaiba settled his glare on the puppy, which made the poor thing yelp again and clutch Yugi closer, trying to disappear behind his smaller form. Yugi pet his head reassuringly. "A stray that attached itself to me when I chased off some lowlifes." Was his careless reply as he finally settled his gaze on something more interesting and took a seat at the bar. Yugi sighed and continued ruffling the blonde's soft, shaggy hair.

"What do you want me to do with him?"

"Fix it, break it, whatever you want, just make it shut up and take it off my hands."

Yugi sighed, "Kaiba, I cannot keep him. You know Yami dislikes dogs." Kaiba's face transformed into a half smirk, Yugi could tell that the idea of causing Yami trouble was a happy one. He looked down at the puppy, who was giving him a look that could have gotten him the role of poster child for animal activists in a second.

"What's your name?" He asked kindly, smiling reassuringly down at the creature. "Jou," came the timid reply. Yugi grinned, good boy. "Well come on Jou, you must be hungry. Let's go make you a sandwich and I'll give you a few tips on how to handle borderline psychotic dragons." The puppy perked up visibly at the mention of food and bounced after Yugi just as Kaiba straightened from his slouch by the bar,

"What?"

Yugi turned at the bottom of the stairs leading to their apartment above the bar. "It's your responsibility to look out for what you picked up Kaiba," he said with an infuriating grin. He left the white dragon without another backward glance, alone to do what would have been called spluttering and sulking in a lesser person.

Jou was happily munching his way through a third sandwich, upon closer inspection it had become evident that the poor thing was malnourished and uncared for. Yugi almost felt sorry for having to send him with Kaiba, the white dragon was after all not known for his terribly affectionate nature, but he really couldn't keep him, Yami would never agree. The thought had just occurred when he felt his lover returning, "Aibou, what is that smell?" Yugi closed his eyes.

Oh, this had started off well.

He could hear Yami taking the steps two at a time and watched the open doorway passively. When his lover emerged his eyes immediately fell on the puppy. Jou stopped eating, whining under the intense scrutiny. He wanted to hide behind Yugi again, but instinctively felt that if he made any kind of move in the short dark haired boy's direction the larger purple dragon would hurt, maybe even kill, him. So he sat frozen, whining softly in his throat. Yami took his eyes off the dog for a second and looked into his hikari's eyes.

"We are not keeping this!"

Kaiba came up the stairs just in time to see Motou's eyes narrow. He grinned in anticipation of whatever scalding statement the chibi was about to unleash on his big mouthed other half. Yami seemed to realise his mistake too as he quickly moved to correct it.

"What I mean is, you know we cannot. There's barely space for the two of us up here and with your grandfather sometimes visiting and all your friends coming over regularly, you know you said it yourself once..."

"I do believe you are babbling," Kaiba helpfully pointed out, causing the dark haired dragon to whip his head around to glare at him. "Thank you, Kaiba," he said venomously, quickly turning back to his lover, who had by this time shifted to include Kaiba in his gaze.

"Thank you both for your concern about Jou's wellbeing, you are both definitely the epitome of all things good in this world."

Yugi turned his gaze on his lover, "Yami, I will keep a pet if I want, even if that means that you get to sleep in the bar and Kaiba,"

Yugi snapping his name did not keep the white dragon from grinning maliciously at the discomfited Pharaoh.

"You may take Jou-kun back to your own apartment, Mokuba will definitely enjoy the company and interaction with good natured others may just better your personality in the slightest."

Yugi finished his tirade by turning a gentle smile on the astonished puppy, who had certainly not been expecting the outburst from the seemingly harmless other. "Finish your sandwich puppy, Kaiba's house is much nicer than ours. You'll definitely like Mokuba, he knows exactly how to keep Kaiba in line."

Jou quickly chomped down the rest of his food, not about to ignore a command from the suddenly intimidating short boy.

He rose from his seat and Yugi ruffled his hair again. "Come visit whenever you feel like it, okay?"

Jou nodded once and walked over to the tall dragon, staring apprehensively up into his single sapphire eye. The dragon was scowling down at him, although their difference in height were not as marked as it had appeared when he'd been struggling in that monster grip. Jou wanted to reach out and touch him, but touching would not be welcomed another instinct told him. So he kept his hands to himself as the other turned abruptly and strode down the stairs without even so much as a farewell to the two people in the kitchen. Jou turned once to give Yugi a small wave before trotting to catch up with his new master.

QQ

"A puppy?" Mokuba leaned against the doorframe of the living room and watched his brother close and lock the front door. His grin widened as Seto's whole expression seemed to flatten, "I unwittingly saved it and Mutou couldn't take it." Was all he said and didn't even spare a glance for the animal standing in the middle of the spacious apartment's foyer as he strode into his study and slammed the door. A few seconds later it opened again and Seto fixed his gaze on his younger brother.

"Since it's here now, look after it."

The door closed again, leaving the two of them alone. Mokuba watched as the puppy stared about in wonderment, he had obviously never been in such a big, fancy house before. The pup suddenly seemed to realise that they were alone and jumped to attention under the younger Kaiba's gaze. "Hi, my name's Jou," he offered. This one didn't look so scary. The darker dragon grinned, "Well, come on Jou, let's get you something to eat."

Never one to turn down food the puppy happily followed Mokuba through to the kitchen, almost bumping into the dark haired boy when he stopped in the doorway.

They stood side by side and surveyed the place for a moment. There was a thin layer of dust on every surface. Mokuba laughed a little and rubbed the base of his blue-black right horn sheepishly.

"We don't use it much, except when Seto makes coffee."

Jou nodded, he didn't know much about dragons, but he suspected that their interest in food waned when meat was not the subject. "Can you cook?" Mokuba asked suddenly, Jou was surprised but still nodded quickly, he had been taught to make some basic dishes by one of his previous masters. Mokuba nodded once, seemingly having made up his mind. "Alright, then we'll go out for some groceries," he looked the other up and down, "and some new clothes." He frowned a little, still scrutinizing the puppy. "Maybe a bath first," Jou's ears flattened at the sound of that, "you can wear some of Seto's clothes in the meantime, though it might be a little wide about the shoulders." Ears having been flat before, they had now disappeared into his hair. Wear the white dragon's clothes? He'd be killed! "Come on," the younger dragon said decisively. He then proceeded to not pay any attention to Jou's distress as he dragged the puppy towards the bathroom.

They were standing in Seto's bedroom, the puppy wrapped in a fluffy towel and nervously peering around while the young dragon rooted around in his brother's wardrobe. "Um, I can just wear my old clothes," the puppy mumbled. He did _not_ want to be here, he didn't think that he _should_ be here. Mokuba pulled his head out from under a pile of clothes and gave the now clean puppy an arch look. "No, they're dirty and old. I went through all that _considerable_ trouble to get you clean, so clean clothes you're going to wear." The puppy had not been an easy one to bathe, not with his mood altering between afraid of the water in the huge tub and playful with the bath bubbles. In the end they had both been soaked to the bone.

"What are you doing?"

Jou jumped about a mile, the towel previously covering his thin body forgotten on the floor. His master was standing in the doorway, not looking amused, although the puppy was beginning to suspect – in a cynical corner at the back of his mind – that the look was maybe his default one. Mokuba calmly dragged out a pair of old jeans.

"Looking for something that'll fit your puppy."

"He's not wearing my clothes...and he's not mine."

Mokuba rolled his eyes,

"Well, he can't very well go out naked and mine won't fit. So just suck it up for a while. We are planning on going out to get some clothes and food and stuff."

"Why?"

"Because he needs 'em and puppies need to eat."

"Who's cooking?"

"Jou."

"You expect me to eat to as well?"

"Nope, you are welcome to keep eating out or starving or whatever fits your fancy."

Seto glared at his brother. He sometimes suspected that he spent too much time with Mutou. They were scarily alike in their infuriatingness*. With a growl, he spun around.

"Do what you want."

Jou was amazed, the big dragon had laid down arms just like that.

He looked at the dark haired dragon with new respect and found the boy watching him. "These will fit." Mokuba said with a mysterious little grin as he tossed some clothes in Jou's direction. "You want me to wait outside while you dress? Not that I suppose it matters, you dropped that towel quite a while ago." He skipped laughingly out of the room as an embarrassed howl went up behind him.

QQ

"So, what happened between you and Seto?" Mokuba asked as they started their journey back to the Kaiba apartment. He had been carefully avoiding the subject all afternoon, but finally his curiosity had gotten the better of him. Jou blushed a little and cleared his throat, "I ain't been here long," he mumbled, "my previous owners moved away an' dumped me here," he kept his gaze on the pavement in front of him, not wanting to see the pity on the dark haired dragon's face at admitting he had been abandoned.

"So then t'day there were these werewolf bastards harassin' me near the alley where I been livin', something 'bout not wantin' some stray Domestic in their territory." He risked a peek at Mokuba, who was looking suitably outraged and smiled a little, the kid was much more expressive than his brother.

"I was trying ta fight 'em, cuz you know that was my space and suddenly it was rainin' werewolves an' I decided that maybe runnin' would be a better idea, cuz anything that could do that to a werewolf wasn't gonna be my friend, but before a could run, this hand gripped my collar and yanked me into th' air." Jou demonstrated best he could with his arms full of grocery bags.

"I tried to explain, but he just wouldn't lemme go. I hadn't even seen his face until he dumped me on the purple dragon's floor." Jou smiled wistfully, "tha' scary chibi makes the best sandwiches." When he looked over at Mokuba the boy was grinning widely, seemingly caught up in his own thoughts.

"Seto's such a liar."

Jou looked at him, perplexed. "Wha d'ya mean?" But Mokuba wouldn't elaborate and just kept on grinning his mysterious little grin as he changed the subject.

"Seto and Yami run a game club in town, you know, arranging fighting tournaments and gambling and the like. It's all legal," Mokuba assured the puppy walking beside him along the street, "the fights have normal rules and regulations that everyone have to listen to." They were almost home now and walking a little closer together, it wasn't that late and this was a better part of town, but even here Domino was Domino, meaning that nowhere was really safe.

"Seto takes care of the business side and Yami works with the people. He's actually quite good at handling people, other than Yugi of course, there he keeps putting his foot in his mouth. It's quite funny to watch, I know Seto enjoys it immensely." Jou was enjoying learning about his master, specially since he couldn't imagine that Seto was going to open up about himself any time soon.

"Yami and Seto met in a fighting ring, one of the illegal ones. It's Yami who got his right eye, in turn Seto almost ripped his throat out. It's quite a scar, he hides it behind that choker he wears. Something about it putting people off.

"First they didn't get along at all, then they realised that by working together the business opportunities were endless.

"Seto loves business, would even work with his rival if it meant raising the profit margin and boy did it rise. No one would even think about messing with their club, those two together are worse that the yakuza."

"You know…" Mokuba eyed the puppy slyly, "you coming to live with us might just be a blessing. Winter's coming and with us dragons being cold blooded and all, you're just the type of person Seto needs to warm him up a bit." Jou looked at Mokuba wide eyed, "ye aren't suggesting I actually get in bed wit' him are ya?" He yelped, "being kicked back onto the street is the least that he would do ta me!" Mokuba laughed, "Seto's not that bad, just give him a little time." Jou kept his sceptical look to himself, he was very grateful that the white dragon had saved him, although he had no idea why, but he doubted very much that the brunette would ever think of him as being useful.

QQ

Jou watched from his spot at the table as Mokuba rushed into the kitchen, half of a school uniform hanging off his lean, teenage frame. He plonked himself down at the table opposite Seto, relieving some of the tension that had filled the room when it had just been him and the older dragon.

Mokuba gave them both a perfunctory greeting as he started shovelling eggs and bacon into his mouth. He stopped after the third mouthful and grinned at Jou, "This is good, puppy, thanks." Jou smiled happily at the compliment, it made him feel better about getting up earlier and making it, especially after Seto had refused to even acknowledge him or the breakfast when he had come into the kitchen earlier to brew some coffee. Mokuba put his fork down for a few minutes and looked at him.

"Wanna come to school with me?"

"No."

Mokuba turned an exasperated expression on Seto, "I wasn't asking you, Seto. Besides, what else do you want Jou to do all day by himself?" Seto put his paper down, "school is no place for a domestic mutt." Mokuba frowned, "that's not true! A lotta owners send their pets to school, we have quite a few Domestics in our class." Seto snorted and brought his cup to his lips, apparently not noticing that it had been refilled by Jou. "Then I should start looking for a better school for you."

"Seto!" Mokuba snapped glaring at his brother, "that's ridiculous! Now, either Jou comes to school with me or he's going to spend the morning going with you on your errands." Seto's eye narrowed, a clear indicator that his buttons shouldn't be pushed this early in the morning. Jou sat quietly watching the two brothers argue. The expression on Seto's face was almost enough to keep him quiet, but he felt he had to say something to stop the fighting. "I don't mind staying here," he said quietly and flinched back when both brothers turned their gazes on him.

"Out of the question."

He looked between the two of them, completely unsure of what his temperamental masters wanted. "okay then," he mumbled timidly, dropping his gaze again. Seto sighed and sat back in his seat, "take him to school, but he's your responsibility," he finally grumbled, wondering why he seemed to be giving way every time the mutt was concerned.

QQ

Jou fell onto the carpet in the living area and lay staring up at the ceiling blankly. He'd never been to school before today and boy was it tiring! He didn't have any idea how Mokuba and his friends managed to sit still that long. Halfway through the day he had been bored out of his skin.

Finally seeing his near catatonic state Mokuba had suggested he leave a little early and had given him the apartment's key. They'd shared a moment of reflection on what Seto would do if he found out that Mokuba had given the dog, that they had owned for less than a day, a key to the apartment. Then the younger boy had grinned recklessly and done it anyway, sending him off with an admonishment to be careful when crossing the street.

Speaking of the white dragon, Jou almost yelped when he turned on his side and saw him asleep on the couch. How he hadn't noticed him as he'd come in Jou had no idea, but it made him feel a little foolish. Had he really become used to the dragon's scent that easily?

Curious at seeing the brunette so defenceless and feeling brave since he seemed to be deeply asleep, Jou inched closer slowly. He looked up at Seto's perfectly sculpted lips, bowed just a little in his sleep and followed the line of his straight nose upwards, taking in high cheekbones, soft brown hair and those white horns, shimmering with just a little bit of silvery blue in the sunlight.

His eyes travelled back onto Seto's face and in tracing his near perfect features again Jou spotted just a lick of a scar peeking out from under the dark patch where his right eye should have been. That patch made Jou's hands itch terribly, he just wanted to see what was underneath…slowly one hand ascended to the sleeping dragon's face…

"If you touch me, I will hurt you."

"Mwaaaaaaa!" Jou yelped and scrambled back instantly, cowering behind the conveniently placed low coffee table in the middle of the room. He raised his head cautiously and found the dragon had raised himself up on one elbow and was watching him with sadistic amusement. "I wasn't gonna touch, promise." He offered timidly. Seto snorted and dropped onto his back, "Lying little mutt. Where's my brother?"

Jou gulped. This wasn't going to end well, he thought as he contemplated how to tell the elder Kaiba that he had come home alone. He was evidently taking too long to answer because the dragon was back in his upright position, his face having lost all trace of humour, "Mutt?" He snarled dangerously, "where's Mokuba?"

"Jeez, right here, Seto, what's with the attitude?"

Jou dropped onto his back in sheer, unadulterated relief as the younger dragon entered the room, thus missing the look Seto gave his brother, clearly stating that they hadn't fooled him. "Right, welcome home. Get us something to eat." He heard footsteps and raised his head, watching Seto exit the room. "Jou, you wanna make us something?" Mokuba asked cheerfully and Jou shot him a look. The boy obviously loved pushing all his volatile brother's buttons. He didn't even bother to speak up and only shook his head mutely. Mokuba laughed, "Oh come on, I like your cooking and we'll just not tell Seto that you made it. He'll eat anything if you don't tell his ego where it came from." Jou sighed and got to his feet. There was just no arguing with some people.

QQ

"How's your new pet?" Yami asked a few days later as Kaiba threw himself onto a barstool in Yugi's shop. Though he would never admit to himself that he came here for the companionship, it did make out some part of his patronage. Although Yami's statement seemed to have been designed to elicit more response from the two people sitting between them than was expected from Seto himself. "You got a Domestic?" Bakura shot him a wolfy grin, "what happened to never letting the creatures cross your doorstep?" Kaiba raised his eye at the three of them and flipped Yami off carelessly, before tossing back his scotch.

"Mokuba's quite taken with the mutt."

"That would explain it," Marik mused, grinning at his white haired partner, "that kid could probably get Kaiba to dress up in drag and do a strip tease." Identical leery grins in Kaiba's direction made him sigh.

Though foul mouthed and of questionable morality, both Wild ones sitting between him and Yami were detectives in the organised crimes division of Domino PD. Probably because, as Yugi had once mused, it was the only respectable career where you were legally allowed to shoot people. And respectability had become a career requirement after having met Ryou and Malik respectively.

"Don't get too excited at that now, those little cock blocks of yours just might be around." Kaiba murmured, smirking into his glass after the dayshift bartender had refilled it. Bakura glowered at him, "Watch your mouth." He growled softly, his eyes narrowed dangerously. Yami rolled his eyes and settled his back comfortably against the bar. It wouldn't be a normal day if Kaiba didn't manage to piss one of the other two off at least a little bit. The white dragon seemed to live for confrontation.

"Speaking of Mutts," Marik said calmly. He remained the least hot headed of the two, not quite letting Kaiba get to him as much as Bakura allowed it. "We busted another two illegal Domestic fighting syndicates this week. Human assholes are getting out of hand again." The statement caused all four men at the bar to study their drinks in silence for a moment. Then Marik broke the tension. "So make sure to keep your puppy safe, Seto." He batted his lashes at the brunette, auburn tuft at the end of his golden tail twitching teasingly against his ankle. Kaiba glowered again, but Yami noticed he didn't negate Marik's suggestion. He grinned into his own glass. The ice prince seemed to have a little chink in his armour.

QQ

"I still don' undastand why I hafta wear this thing!" Jou whined as he dragged at the tie around his neck. Seto grit his teeth and willed himself not to press down further on the convertible's accelerator, "because, _Mutt, _my club warrants a certain level of dress and I will not have gossip circulating that there is a hobo living in my house."

Although he had said that, both brothers had, one secretly and one exuberantly, been surprised at how handsome the blonde looked after a haircut and in the tight black pants and dark red button up. The puppy himself had appeared pretty satisfied with the outfit until Seto had brought out the tie and it wasn't until the half irate dragon had threatened to strangle him with it that the blonde had allowed it to be knotted loosely around his neck.

Jou growled sullenly. "Oh, fancy the great Seto Kaiba knowing a commoner word like 'hobo'." He muttered.

Seto gave up and set his foot down. The car shot forward, causing Jou to grab at the armrest to secure himself. Seto grinned briefly. Seeing the mutt panic relieved some of his frustration.

"I don't know what you are being so bitchy about, I was under the impression you wanted to see the club."

"But not with you! I wanna go with Mokie!"

"Well, suck it up. Mutou wants to see you and Mokuba isn't old enough to be there yet. So unfortunately you are stuck with me."

Jou turned his head fractionally and peered at the brunette. Was it his imagination or did Seto's voice sound a just a little sulky? He snorted at his own idiocy.

Yeah right!

If there was one thing he had learned these past two weeks it was that his master was one solid, glacial fortress and his emotional capacity did not have space for scruffy mutts.

Seto slid the car smoothly into an empty space in front of a nondescript building. Jou peered at the place, not exactly impressed by the club's grey façade. "Out," Seto directed curtly and slid himself out of the driver seat. He lead the way to the front entrance, past a long line of waiting people and acknowledged the tall, lethal looking doorman with a curt nod. Jou was surprised when Seto pointed one long finger at him,

"Katsuya Jounouchi."

The man nodded and focused on Jou's face. The blonde shrugged uncomfortably under the man's intense gaze and was relieved when a noise from Seto signalled that they were entering. He gave the man at the door a quick wave and scampered after his master, but not before noticing the discreet plaque by the door: Millennium.

Jou shifted closer to Kaiba as he stared around the interior. He should have expected that it would differ vastly from the outside, but he was still awed by the opulence. A few weeks ago he'd thought that he'd hit his limit of being impressed by fancy stuff, obviously he'd been wrong. And when Jou thought of the way Mokie had described it, the place had sounded like a boxing ring set up in someone's basement. Instead it looked like a cross between Egyptian and Western décor. With cushioned nooks and glittering chandeliers merging to form an elegant paradise. "Hey," he mumbled, tugging at the bottom of Seto's coat, "I undastand now," causing Seto to pause in giving instructions to the man in front of him and toss a smirk backwards, "good. Who says old dogs can't be trained?"

Jou frowned, ready to retort sharply, but his attention was grabbed by Yugi bearing down on them, two strangers at his side. "Jou! I'd hoped you would come," he said with a smile. The blonde couldn't help returning the gesture. It was his first time seeing the dark haired man since the day Kaiba had rescued him, but he was still just as friendly. "Seto, Ima go with Yugi now," he said to the white dragon.

"Don't get him drunk, I have no intention of looking after an inebriated mutt." Came the parting shot. Jou visibly refrained from retorting, sticking to a grumble in his throat as he stepped closer to Yugi. As they walked away the taller of Yugi's two companions, willowy, blonde haired and beautiful commented quietly, "you call him Seto?"

"His name isn't it?" Jou replied, looking at the wild one. "Well, yes, but only Mokuba and people with a death wish use it," the sensuous blonde said in amusement. Jou hrrumphed, "well, he ain't complained yet." He eyed the blonde, "who're you guys?" He asked bluntly. Yugi uttered and embarrassed chuckle and tugged at the tip of one purple horn, "sorry about my manners. Jou, this is Ryou," he ruffled the short albino on his left's hair in much the same manner that he would rub Jou's own. "And Malik." The sensuous blonde winked at Jou. "Drink, puppy?" He asked placing a hand on the bar and beckoning the bartender with the other.

QQ

Seto's hands twitched on his keyboard's keys.

He had patience, he had plenty of patience, but he couldn't wait to get this evening over so he could take the mutt home. He didn't quite trust Mutou with looking after the puppy, the brat was just too easily distracted when he'd had a few and thus, thinking of untrustworthy people, he wouldn't trust Malik to make things better. That one was damn near as bad as his lover. That only left the little albino, who was, in general, ineffective. Thinking on it, he didn't know what had made him think he could leave that naïve moron with those idiotic morons.

Seto pinched the bridge of his nose and made to get up from behind his desk. He'd better go and check on the mutt, perhaps the blonde would do him a favour and want to leave early. He stretched and scratched at the base of a horn. The things were itching again.

It was not unusual with the changing of seasons. As the weather grew colder the itch grew proportionally and he frequently felt as if his human skin was just too small to fit him. He grew so cold, sometimes it felt like the only thing that made life worth living was the central heating in his apartment.

And, no, the irony of the so called 'ice prince' hating cold had not escaped him.

If Seto Kaiba had been given to introspection of any kind it would have been on those freezing nights where even his soul seemed to be a popsicle and perhaps he would've found that there were quite a few psychological problems with tiebacks to this aversion.

Fortunately or unfortunately he wasn't. So after another irritable scratch at the offending appendage, Seto made his way downstairs to find his mutt.

The moment Seto's gaze landed on the counter where he had last seen Mutou and his mutt sitting, he spotted trouble. It had come in the form of two idiotic Wild ones:

Bakura and Marik.

Seto weaved his way through a group of human females all turning to stare as the tall brunette passed them. He didn't take any notice. In general females seemed to enjoy staring at him. Instead he focused his attention on the blonde puppy lying on his arms at the bar.

Bakura was giggling with glee. "Your mutt's a real hoot, Kaiba. Haven't laughed like that in fuckin' weeks!"

"What did you feed him?" Seto demanded. He swept his gaze around the floor. Where the hell was Mutou? When he found that brat, he was going to smear him into the carpet. "We told the boys to go dance a bit, promised to look after the pup." Marik ruffled dishevelled blonde hair and Seto heard the mutt mumble in approval, "but I admit, we did not expect him to go down so fast."

Seto was pissed, he had brought the mutt here only at the short dragon's insistence. How had this become his problem? He glared at the other two. "Where the hell do you think a stray mutt would have gotten an education in alcohol, you moron?" He snapped and hooked an arm around Jou's waist manhandling the blonde over his shoulder.

He turned and came face to face with Mutou. Yugi's eyes widened when he spotted the semi-conscious pup. "Kaiba? We were only gone for a few minutes! He said he'd be fine." Ryou was eyeing his lover, who shrugged innocently. "You shouldn't have warned me against not doing it so vehemently, Lover. Besides, he was the best free entertainment I've had outside sex!" This only seemed to fuel the fire in the small albino's eyes. Suddenly even Marik seemed less inclined to sit next to the wolf.

Yugi's expression, on the other hand, was overflowing with guilt. "I'm sorry Kaiba, I said I'd look after Jou. I shouldn't have left him alone. I should…I'll just…I'll call Yami and we'll take him home, okay?" Seto had long since felt that living with Mokuba had made him immune to huge eyes and sorrowful expressions, but he wasn't quite correct. At least Mutou was aware that it was the brunette's turn as supervisor, meaning Seto could look forward to spending the whole night with the drunk mutt by his side. Sad that he hadn't thought about it before allowing Bakura to have a go.

"He'll sleep it off in the office," He said curtly and turned his back on the others. Before mounting the stairs back up to his office, Seto paused to talk to his manager and chief of security, Roland, about a poker table and a few free drinks.

The rest of the trip upstairs was made while wearing a decidedly evil smirk. Before the night was out he'd make sure that both baka detectives had at least lost half their monthly salaries. He liked things hot, especially his revenge.

"Ow," Jou moaned blearily. He rolled his blood shot eyes up towards Seto's desk and caught the white dragon's gaze. "Gonna hurl!" He choked and in an attempt to get up, scrabbled his fingers against the leather of the couch weakly. Seto moved so fast he appeared to be a blur as he slid his waste paper basket against the couch and jerked the pup's head over it.

"Bloody hell mutt, didn't I say that I was not going to do this?" He muttered over the sound of the dog being noisily sick. "'m Sorry, S'to," he groaned and rubbed a hand across his mouth. Seto rubbed his head soothingly, "It's okay, doesn't really matter, pup," he murmured softly, safe in the knowledge that the pup would remember very little when he was finally sober again. Jou curled his fingers into the fabric of Seto's jacket. "Stay…please?" he pleaded with another bleary blink up at Seto with those warm chocolate eyes. Seto's resolve hadn't ever crumbled that fast for another person besides Mokuba. He sighed and retrieved his laptop from beside the desk. He could do his work just as well from the couch, so he settled the pup's head on his lap and switched on the computer. Occasionally the brunette looked down at the grumbling, restless pup, his expression uncharacteristically soft as he gave his head a quick rub.

The hours ticked by and gradually the laughter and noise from the club below ceased. When the dawn began peeking over the Domino skyline Seto closed his computer and hoisted the sleeping pup onto his back, Jou grumbled a bit and locked his arms around Seto's shoulders. The tall dragon entered the ground floor to supervise final cleanup before collecting the night's earnings. He'd hand the money over to Roland to go deposit as soon as the city's bank opened, since trusting Domino PD with any kind of valuables was never a good idea. Finally he exited the building along with Roland, who did one last sweep of the now silent building before locking up.

Seto crossed over to his car and placed the pup on the passenger seat. He paused and straightened as a figure detached itself from the shadows. Seto raised an eyebrow at Otogi, another dark dragon just like Mokie.

"Well?"

Otogi cracked a grin, "Idiots never knew what hit 'em! That Bakura left without what is probably half his apartment's rent." Seto nodded in satisfaction, "I trust you've helped yourself already?" The other nodded, "nice doing business with ya, Kaiba. Give me a call whenever you feel like making use of my services again." He disappeared back into the shadows and after a moment of contemplating the wall, the tall dragon concerned himself with his sleeping pup once again.

QQ

"Huh? What happened?" Mokuba was getting ready for school when Seto entered the apartment and dumped the sleeping pup on the couch. Seto grunted.

"Bakura."

It seemed enough of an answer and Mokuba shook his head as he straightened his tie, Bakura-san just loved to tick off his brother. Although, it was his brother's silence that made him pause. Nii-san was usually much more vocal about Bakura-san's pranks. The younger looked back at his brother,

"Nii-san?"

Seto smirked, "He got his," he said with a wave of his hand as he entered his room and closed the door, effectively cutting off the conversation.

Mokuba rubbed a horn and rolled his eyes. When he had more time he'd question Nii-san closely and, knowing Nii-san as he did, afterwards he'd probably have to do some damage control. The young dragon looked down at the pup on the couch and gave his head a quick rub. "Such a good boy, just keeping on doing what ya doin' to him, kay?" His smile grew as Jou muttered in his sleep. Mokuba gave the mussed blonde head a last rub and skipped out the door.

QQ

The inside of Yugi's bar was cozy with merry fires burning in both the stone hearths. Seto felt his insides unfreeze quickly as the door shut behind Mokuba. They had come by because Mokuba had questions to ask Mutou for a school project and their apartment's heating had broken down unexpectedly forcing Seto to come here to keep himself from becoming frozen solid.

He seated himself on his usual seat at the bar and nodded at the others silently as the barman poured his drink and Mokuba said his hello's. Moments later a shadow fell over his warm little world and he looked up at a scowling Bakura.

"Can I help you?"

The small pale shadow standing beside Bakura drew his attention. "Good evening, Kaiba. Kura has something to tell you." Ryou said, his expression grim. Seto raised the glass just handed to him in Ryou's direction, "go ahead." He said, smirking. With an expression that looked like he'd swallowed a cup of bile Bakura opened his mouth. "I apologise for the difficulties I caused at the club." He muttered and was awarded a quick pat on the shoulder by his lover. Then he turned to a suspicious Jou, who was half hiding behind Mokuba and eyeing the wild one who had given him the sweet tasting dangerous stuff that time at the club. Bakura's expression didn't change much, "And I'm sorry, Mutt, that I used you for my own amusement." Finally he looked back at Ryou, "Am I forgiven now?" He growled and Ryou smiled, "Almost." He said sweetly.

Mokuba tapped Seto on his shoulder, "Nii-san…" Seto rolled his eye and reached into his white jacket. His hand came out holding a roll of notes which he held out towards Bakura. The wolf swiped it from his hand and counted the bills quickly. He scowled,

"It's not all here."

"Well, what did you expect? I'm running a business, not a charity."

"It's fine Kaiba, thank you," Ryou quickly interjected and rose up on his toes to kiss his lover's forehead. "Now you're forgiven." He said with a smile that had the thief grumbling, but looking pleased all the same.

Seto rolled his eyes and turned back to his drink and his warm little world as conversation resumed around him.

"You want some chocolate milk Jou?" Mokuba asked unexpectedly, slurping at the straw in the glass Yugi had handed to him. "And what about a sandwich?" Yugi joined in, jiggling the plate in his hands enticingly. Jou looked at the plate with longing. He was aware of just what Seto thought about him never refusing anything to eat, mostly because Seto had spent some time during the afternoon exploring his thoughts on the topic. He looked guiltily back at the white dragon, who was watching the hand that was creeping upwards to take a sandwich before his gaze switched to Jou and he grinned horribly.

Jou blew up his cheeks and snatched the sandwich anyway. He _liked_ eating and no mean dragon was gonna keep him from doing it! Just to be sure that the mean dragon wasn't gonna keep him from doing it Jou scampered around Yugi and sat eating his sandwich and drinking his milk as far away as possible from his master.

"Kaiba seems a bit out of it," Yugi murmured as they went through the homework assignment. "Uh-huh, our apartment's heating broke and nii-san's having a little trouble with the cold." Mokuba replied softly, pointing out the questions that needed answers. "Are you going to do something about it?" Mokuba grinned mysteriously and leaned his chin on his palm as Yugi started filling out the questions,

"I do have a bit of a plan."

There was silence for a while.

"Is it dangerous?"

"Well, not if executed correctly."

"Good luck then," Yugi said and signed the paper with a flourish, "There you go, Mokie, all done."

Mokuba grinned and took the paper from Yugi, "Thanks Yuug, come on Jou, let's go tell nii-san we're done."

Jou quickly polished the last sandwich on the plate and dipped his head to allow Yugi to pet it, "than's Yugi," he mumbled around the sandwich and walked to the other side of the counter where Mokuba was rousing Seto.

QQ

"I'm going to bed," Seto directed distastefully at his brother and the mutt. He dreaded having to remove his clothing and get into his frigid bed, but he was going to do it anyway, since doing things he disliked was an everyday occurrence for him. So he stomped through the freezing apartment and threw his clothes somewhere in the vicinity of the dresser. With an irritable grumble Seto curled into himself on the bed and closed his eye. He knew he had no hope of getting the bed warmed up as he himself had no body heat to speak of, but if he was lucky he'd fall unconscious somewhere during the night and perhaps get a little rest.

"Puppy," Mokuba said innocently as they watched Seto stomp away, "I have a little ultimatum for you." Jou narrowed his eyes at the younger dragon. He _did not_ like the sound of that.

"Ultimatum?"

"A little challenge."

Mokuba was still wearing that innocent expression. "Why don't you go sleep with Seto tonight?" Jou's eyes widened, "are ya crazy?" He yelped. They'd been through this already, he liked being alive! Mokua grinned, "You know, it's either that or the hallway." Jou's ears flattened against his head, "I'll take my chances with the cold." He grumbled and started for the door…

The thing was…Jou supposed…The thing was, you did not expect Mokuba to be this strong, in fact usually you almost forgot that he was a dragon at all. Except now that he was struggling against the younger dragon's grip while being dragged to his master's room. He'd almost made it to the door when Mokuba had grabbed his waist and easily dragged him backwards.

"I really don't want to do this Jou," Mokuba said, sounding regretful. "Then don't!" Jou yelped. "But you see, I have to, sleeping with you would definitely make Nii-san feel better."

"Says you! I don't wanna be made into the fur blanket to be thrown over your brother's bed!"

"It'll be alright, you'll see," Mokuba said with a quick smile before he tossed the puppy into his brother's room and yanked to door closed. Jou jumped for the handle only to hear the lock click.

_He locked me in here, that brat!_

Jou looked around apprehensively and a moment later his gaze fell on the form under the pile of blankets on the bed. He crept closer and put his hand on top of the shape. It was cold! Was Seto under there? Then he must be freezing.

Jou sighed. Looks like he was going to sleep with the white dragon after all. Still feeling just a little cautious, Jou crawled under the pile of blankets and fit himself to the contours of Seto's back. Even in the dark he could feel the ridged scars scattered across it. When it seemed that the dragon wasn't going to flip around and eat him, Jou snuggled closer, feeling Seto's flesh warm at his touch.

He'd just relaxed when the brunette next to him growled and with a flinch Jou tensed again. He stayed that way when he felt the dragon twist around to face him and was just about to bolt out of the bed and start begging for his life when Seto's hands curled around his waist. The big dragon latched onto the pup almost as if he was trying to climb inside him. Jou peered up at his master's pale face and noticed the still closed eye.

Jou liked touching and being touched, it was how he showed affection and finally having his master touch him without an expression of disgust made the blonde relax. He fit his head underneath Seto's chin and closed his own eyes. It _was_ amazingly comfortable.

QQ

"Well, Mutt, are you coming?"

Seto growled impatiently. Jou crossed his arms. He really disliked it when his master called him a mutt.

"Why do I gotta go?"

Seto rolled his eye. Was he always going to ask this question?

"I'm hoping you can be useful for something. Thus, we're going to find out what."

Jou pouted but followed the dragon to the front door anyway.

"Ya mean other than washin' yer clothes and cooking yer food."

Seto snorted as he buttoned his own coat up completely and then turned to smother the pup with a scarf. Jou yelped and scrambled away,

"Hey! I'ma tell Mokie tha yer tryin to kill me again!"

His dramatisation was greeted with another snort. "Just move." Pouting, the pup did as he was told. His master could be such a bully.

Despite snapping at each other constantly, Jou had begun to feel more comfortable around his master recently. It wasn't the same as how Mokie and Yuug made him feel and more often than not the brunette's words still stung, but at least sometimes Jou felt that perhaps his master felt more than just tolerant of him.

"What's this place?" Jou asked, eyeing the dilapidated building suspiciously. Seto grinned mysteriously at him, something that made Jou's skin crawl with creepy.

"Let's go."

It turned out to be shady office space and it seemed that Seto was there to collect a debt. Jou looked around nervously. "Don't ya have guys ta do this sorta thing?"

"Of course, but this particular client has proven difficult, which calls for managerial intervention."

"Now I'm sure ya got people for this," Jou muttered and stepped closer to Seto. There was at least seven big men with bigger guns lounging around in the hallway of the floor they had just emerged onto. Seto just smirked and made his way between the bodyguards as if they didn't exist.

Finally they turned into a room occupied by a single girl behind a desk.

"Can I help ya?" The girl asked in a bored tone. Seto smiled at her and even Jou was charmed by its brilliance. Jou watched as the girl sat up straight and patted her hair dreamily. "Seto Kaiba to see your boss." The girl didn't seem to quite register the words, "Yep, go right in Kaiba-san," she replied with an idiotic smile that had Jou rolling his eyes.

Seto looked at Jou. "You are staying here while I speak to this man. Be good." Jou grumbled to himself and crossed his arms. Why did he have to stay with the stupid female?

Seto watched the man behind the desk coolly. He'd listened to all the slimeball's ridiculous excuses for not paying his debt. "Don't bullshit me Katou, why else would you have so many bodyguards. You have ignored all the messages I sent. My patience is gone."

The man behind the desk was spluttering, "Are you threatening me Kaiba? I'll have you know I have many important friends and…"

Suddenly a pained roar went up from the outer room and both Seto and the slimy man behind the desk flew out of the room. Seto halted in the doorway and raised his eyebrow at the defensive looking pup with the two beefcake bodyguards at his feet. "Hey! They were botherin' me first!" He snapped at Seto, "Kept goin' on and on about buying me. Do I look like I'm for sale?"

Seto didn't even try to conceal his chuckle, then his voice turned cold as he directed his next words at the man next to him, "Meet Jou, we'll be taking my money now." The shorter man blanched. "Of course," He squeaked and scurried back into his office, all bluster forgotten.

"What was that about?" Jou grumbled as they left the office block, Seto tapping the filled briefcase against his leg. His master chuckled, "Just a little fun. Didn't you have fun, Mutt?" Jou glared at him.

"I was worried! And ya tell me we're were havin' fun? What kinda person has fun like that?" He yelled, clenching his hands into fists.

He was angry, that was definitely so, but watching his master chuckle was enough to abate most of his anger, the rest flew out the window as Seto pet his head reassuringly, "I apologise sincerely pup, I will never take you into that kind of situation again."

Jou grumbled a little more, "Well, it's not like I minded it that much," he muttered and scuffed his shoe against the frozen pavement. Seto smirked down at his pet and ruffled his hair a last time. "Come on, let's get home quickly and I might even eat your cooking." Jou grumbled louder and quickened his steps to leave his amused master following behind.

QQ

"Nii-san?"

"Yes?"

"What do you _really _think of Jou?"

Seto looked up from where he was packing out a grocery bag. Jou had given Mokuba a list of things to buy while he was visiting Yugi and the young dragon had dragged his recalcitrant brother with on his Saturday morning outing. He was, after all, the only person who could get Seto to do something as banal as grocery shopping.

"What do you mean?" He asked carefully as he turned a bottle of spice over in his hands. "Where does this go?" Mokuba paused momentarily to check out the bottle. "On the rack thingy above the stove."

"Hmmm," Seto hummed as he put the bottle in its space, "I always wondered what this thing was for. What does he do with it anyway?" Mokuba shrugged, "Dunno, but it makes the food taste better, although after our staple diet of take out _anything _tastes better." The look Seto gave him was only half defensive, "I can kill a man three times my weight, why must it also be in my skill set to be able to cook? It is _not_ my fault." Mokuba laughed,

"Jeez, nii-san, did it ever occur to you to just appoint a cook, maybe it would have helped dispel our neighbours' notions that when we're hungry we hunt and eat raw meat."

Seto snorted, "Who eats raw meat!" He snapped, "Do we look like barbarians?" Being someone who did not pay attention to gossip he had never realised that this was the reason they were mainly avoided by their upperclass neighbours. "And letting some stranger into our house is just ludicrous."

"You let Jou in," Mokuba pointed out softly, bringing them back to his original question. Mokuba was also the only person in front of whom Seto would ever look embarrassed. He cleared his throat, "Well, perhaps that was a mistake, thankfully it hasn't proven to be so yet."

Mokuba grinned triumphantly, "You do like him!"

Seto sighed, "as much as it is within my ability…are you satisfied now?"

Mokuba's face looked as if Christmas had come early and he nodded his head up and down vigorously. A moment later his expression turned thoughtful.

"You know, nii-san, Jou has told me a little of how a grew up and it's clear that all he really wants is a place to call home. Somewhere he doesn't have to be afraid of being thrown out."

He paused then, but they were both aware of that which he hadn't said, that it was much the same as their own feelings had been.

Seto looked away from his brother's earnest expression, "What do you want from me? You think I am the one who can provide this assurance?"

Mokuba shrugged, looking down as well, "Why not you? If you were nicer to him, maybe he'd feel more comfortable with us."

The brunette growled in frustration, "I'm not nice! You know this better than anyone! You expect me to change for this mutt?"

"Don't call him a mutt, Seto, he just wants _your _approval!"

"I'm doing all I can! I let him sleep in my bed! I haven't shouted at him even once! I saved him from a bunch of loser werewolves! You want me to sit down and talk about my _feelings_ with a mutt?"

The last part of Seto's utterance was let out with a roar, but Mokuba had never been one to back down from his brother's moods.

"I _told_ you not to call him that! And yes, talking to him might sort some things out!"

"I don't want to! I don't care!"

The fight seemed to leave the white dragon and he sighed, "It's all so trivial, Mokie, I don't think I can be what he needs," he said in a much softer tone. Mokuba's reply was cut off when they heard the front door shut. They bolted out of the kitchen to see a pair of wet footprints near the door. Seto stared at them until Mokuba's shout shook him out of his trance, "Go get him back!" He roared at his immobile brother.

Seto was out the door before he'd finished his utterance. He pounded down the stairs and skidded through the building's front entrance. He was just in time to see his puppy's limp body disappearing from sight as the back of a truck slammed shut.

With a roar of rage Seto charged at the vehicle. He caught the door just as the big truck began moving and for a moment digging his heels into the slippery tarmac worked and the truck's wheels spun ineffectively in place. Then the driver pressed down harder on the accelerator and Seto's feet lost the hold of the frozen ground.

"No!"

With another roar of rage he lost his grip completely and dropped to his knees on the road. He wanted to move, to lose this useless human form and stop that damn truck, but luckily his thinking mind kicked in over instinct. He'd never make it, he just didn't have the power in this cold and he couldn't risk losing precious time.

That didn't mean he lost any of the rage thundering in his veins as he strode up to his brother. Why hadn't he suspected that truck? He seen it parked out there when they had returned home, why had he been thinking like a complacent _human!_

"Call Roland," he bit out, "this was a set up, those fuckers were waiting for him and I _will_ know who betrayed me." He strode inside, making sure Mokuba was following and that there was no one else around to take a shot at his family. He'd go insane if he lost them both.

Mokuba quickly did as he asked, there were times to argue with Seto and then there were times just to obey. This time was definitely one of the latter.

QQ

"Sir, I have my whole network up and running and I will find this person, but I need time." Roland's voice was calm and for a change it didn't rile Seto up further. Instead the dragon dropped back onto the couch next to Mokuba. He dragged his brother closer and ruffled his hair, but exactly whom he was trying to comfort was debatable.

Roland looked the brothers over, snapped his briefcase shut and nodded once. "I will call the moment I have news, please wait here until that time."

Seto's face didn't lose any of its tautness, but he nodded as well and rose to see the manager out. He returned to the living room to see Mokuba sitting in exactly the same position. Seto sighed, he was obviously distraught.

Slowly he moved over to his silent brother and knelt in front of him.

"I will find him and I'll bring him back. I swear."

Mokuba hear the emptiness in his brother's voice and his heart gave an extra little ache. He knew Jou hadn't lived with them for long, but he seemed to have become indispensible. Seto uttered a dry little chuckle as if he knew what Mokuba was thinking,

"I don't know either, before I knew it that mutt's face was as familiar as yours or my own." Mokuba remained silent, but he wrapped his arms around Seto's shoulders and nodded in agreement. He knew exactly what Seto meant and so with a deep breath he pulled himself together.

"Let's get some take out," he told Seto, with a little smile, "we gotta eat something until Jou comes back." Seto made himself return the smile and with a nod he reached for the phone.

They had just sat down with their pizza when Seto's phone buzzed in his pocket. In a moment he had it pressed against his ear. He listened to the person on the other end for a few minutes, replying in short bursts. Finally he rang off, his expression one of grim satisfaction. Roland certainly worked quickly, Mokuba mused as he watched his brother dial another number.

"Mutou, has Roland filled you in on the situation?

"Good, I'll be there soon."

The brunette pocketed the phone again and made for the front door with Mokuba trailing him. At the door Seto paused and pressed a kiss against Mokuba's forehead. "I'll be back as soon as possible. Lock the door, it opens only for the Mutous, understand?" Mokuba nodded mutely and took a step closer. Seto ruffled the younger dragon's hair once and stepped out the door. He waited outside until he'd heard the lock click before his footsteps were fading quickly down the hall.

QQ

Seto stepped into the club's dim interior and locked the door behind him again. They weren't open for the evening yet and the building made the best place for an interrogation to take place. He walked through the gloom, his thoughts fixed on how the person that had sold out his innocent puppy would look.

Mutou was leaning against the wall outside the storeroom where Seto presumed the asshole with the death wish was being held by Roland. The Pharaoh's expression was grim, "It's not what you're expecting, Kaiba." He warned as the taller dragon reached for the doorknob. Seto scoffed, what the hell was that supposed to mean? He flung the door back and paused.

In the center of the room was a girl.

She wasn't tied up, but then, there was no need. Someone like that had no hope of overpowering any of the security personnel.

She was a petite little thing, most likely only a few years older than Mokuba. Her long hair was golden blonde and her blue eyes were currently narrowed on Kaiba with an intense expression of hatred.

Kaiba clenched his jaw. Mutou had been right, it wasn't what he had been expecting. He stepped into the room and was followed by the purple dragon, who closed the door behind him and leaned against it with his arms crossed. Seto directed his gaze at Roland. The manager was standing behind the girl.

"What's this?"

"Megumi Hidaka, age 22, we have been employing her for 3 months."

If the girl hadn't been trying to glare a hole through him, Seto would have struggled to believe that this little thing had betrayed them. His mind's voice berated him again, thinking like a human, again!

Roland took his silence as encouragement to continue. "She has been communicating with men from an illegal fighting syndicate. Unfortunately the number she has been using is useless, I have my men trying to track it, but we have had no luck thus far."

Seto stepped closer to the defiant girl and leaned down until he could look her squarely in the eye.

"Why?"

She threw her head back and crossed her arms, intent on ignoring everybody including Seto. Roland sighed.

"It would seem that Hidaka-san's brother had been working here until a few months back when his employment was terminated. When Hidaka-san applied for employment we did not make the connection as she did not apply with her real surname."

The girl in the chair was finally showing some emotion. Her hands trembled where they gripped her upper arms and her glare had intensified.

"Nii-san is an honest person! And you said he stole from you, he would never steal! Do you know what happened to us after nii-san was fired?

"No one would hire him, everyone was afraid of pissing _you_ off!

"You have no idea what it's like living day to day without knowing where your next meal is coming from and it's all because of _you_!"

Tears were streaming down the girl's pale face as she finished speaking. "You and your family deserve everything that's coming to you."

Seto stared at her.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, I don't even know who your brother is."

The girl's stare was obviously disbelieving. When Yami cleared his throat softly everyone in the room turned to look at him.

"That's because I'm the one who terminated his employment."

He locked gazes with the young girl, "I'm sorry to say, but I have video evidence of your brother's theft. It is you that made a mistake, I didn't tell Kaiba about the kid because he agreed to give the money back in exchange for us not pressing charges. I believe everything he stole went directly into your college fund."

"It's true," Roland said softly after a moment, "if you would like to verify with your brother I can phone him." He placed a hand of the suddenly horrified girl's shoulder. "Mutou-san was very generous, he saved your brother's future."

Seto was back to gritting his teeth, this was not getting Jou back to him!

He went down on one knee in front of the girl and gazed up at her face. "If I had caught your brother I would have sent him to the morgue. This is me asking nicely: Tell me where I can find Jou and I'll forget this ever happened." Despite Seto's posture his voice was poisonous with barely restrained fury. The girl blanched, she did not want to find out how this being would look when he was not asking nicely. "I never went there, but I heard their base was under a shopping district downtown. I don't know for sure, the number they gave me won't work anymore." She cringed backwards as Seto's intense gaze held her own. Finally he blinked and rose from his crouch.

"Mutou, please look after Mokuba, he'll want to know what's going on."

Yami nodded and reached past them to take the girl by her shoulder, "come along Hidaka-san, I'm sure you'll be wanting to get home and reassure your brother that you are safe." He murmured warmly as he steered the girl out of the room.

Seto looked at his manager, "We're going."

QQ

Jou whimpered quietly and ducked his head to shield his face from the bright light that was suddenly shone into his cage. Not long ago there had been a human injecting him with something that had made him terribly light headed and disorientated. Now other humans were examining him critically. "Yes, he'll do for tonight's pre-fight." Jou heard a man's voice cutting through the fog in his brain. "After all, we only need something to whet the crowd's appetite for the main fight." Their chuckles tumbled uncomfortably through his mind and Jou curled in on himself.

He didn't want to be here, he had no idea what was going on and all he really wanted was to be back at Seto's side. Jou's insides clenched as he remembered the white dragon's words. Once again it seemed that he wasn't really wanted. Yuug and Mokie liked him and he liked them back, so why could he never be satisfied with what he had?

Why did he have to crave the company of the one person who didn't care? Jou whimpered again, there was no point. As useless as he was he probably deserved to be here.

When he had first woken up in the little cage in the back of that truck Jou had found himself staring at a wall of cages all of them containing trembling, terrified Domestics. He'd thrown himself against the bars of his cage in a frenzy, his senses heightened by the terror coming from the surrounding cages and their pitiful occupants. Being muzzled and handcuffed hadn't stopped him until one of his captors had approached his cage and swore at him for making such a racket. In his anger Jou hadn't noticed him until the man had stuck a long thin pole through the bars and pressed it against his neck where a bolt of electricity had him slumping against the bars as the man let the current run through his body. "Good boy," Jou had heard him say maliciously as he went back to his mates at the front of the truck.

After arriving at their apparent destination the cages had all been put in this room that stank of fear and rage and death. The hours ticking by had felt like eternity. Now it looked like his journey wasn't over yet. Jou shook his head, trying to clear it of the drug induced fog. Dimly he was aware of a form kneeling in front of his cage. "I'm going to unlock this now and take off your muzzle and cuffs, if you're a good boy and ya don't try to bite or scratch I won't have to shock you, kay?" Jou nodded dumbly, he'd do anything to get out of this cage!

Jou waited carefully for his chance and the moment he felt the human give a little slack on the leash in his hand Jou thrust his shoulder into his chest. The move almost overbalanced him, but he regained it clumsily and let his instincts pick a direction to run in. He hadn't gotten more than a few steps when his body doubled over in pain and he tumbled to the ground in a pathetic heap. As he lay gasping and panting on the floor the human rose to his feet.

"You fuckin' mutt," the human snarled furiously and raised the stick in his hand. Jou flinched instinctively from the expected shock and jerked in surprise and pain as it was brought to viciously on his exposed back. Jou curled tighter in on himself as the blows rained down and lacerated his back. Finally, finally it was over and the leash was jerked upwards. "Move your ass, you little shit. You have a fight to lose."

Jou swallowed the bile that rose up in his throat and tried his best to follow and keep the leash from strangling him. The human stopped when they came to a gate at the end of the corridor. The human jerked the leash again after punching a code that made the gate move upwards slowly. He rose to his feet and was pushed through the gate with a shove from the human. Jou turned from the glare in this new place and stared in shock as the gate trundled closed. The human formed the figure of a gun with his right index finger and thumb. He pointed it directly at Jou and grinned horribly.

"Good luck."

Jou spun around, the glaring lights had subsided and he could see that he was in some sort of arena. It was surrounded by stands packed full of people. Jou was beginning to understand what the hell was going on and he wondered how these people could enjoy it. He stared up at face after face locked in expressions full of bloodlust and excitement until he heard a snarl from the opposite side of the arena.

The massive Domestic that stepped out of the shadows on the other side of the ring was greeted with a wave of cheers, as if the crowd were greeting their hero. Jou swallowed and took a step back, all he saw was huge, scarred dog driven insane by the cruelty of these human monsters and he was its next toy.

Years of fighting experience was all that saved Jou from the other dog's initial lunge and following attacks, but he knew that it was not enough. His reflexes were slowed from the drug and blood loss and soon the dog would get lucky and he would die. Panting already Jou kept his eyes on the other. The animal was closing in for another attack and Jou watched him closely, waiting for that moment when it would become clear from which side the dog would attack. There! Judging his own movements Jou bounded to his right and thought momentarily he was still alright when a massive fist came out of nowhere and he was flung against the wall sliding down brokenly until the other domestic caught him and shook him viciously. Jou moaned in pain as he was pinned to the ground, he couldn't believe he had fallen for such an obvious feint. The panting, blood spattered blonde stared up into the animal's deranged eyes and knew he was going to die. He closed his eyes for the final blow…

Suddenly he became aware of something that had been nagging at his preoccupied brain for a long while now. The ecstatic screams of the crowd had changed in nature and were now those of a terrified mob. Jou's eyes snapped open as the huge Domestic's weight was hauled off him. He watched in detached fascination as the dog flew through the air much like he himself had only moments ago.

As if in slow motion he turned his head to take a look at his saviour. This was a Seto Jou had never seen and never wished to see again. Rage had frozen the dragon's expression into a animalistic snarl. Every line on his body was tight and rigid, power radiated off his frame like a cloak. Jou watched as the true dragon raised a finger that was more claw than hand and pointed it at the other animal.

"Stay down."

Seto's voice wasn't loud, but it reverberated through the arena as if he had roared the words. The huge Domestic crouched at the other side of the arena and whined in submission. Jou struggled to sit up. When he had finally regained his feet he whined, once, in confusion and in a moment that terrifying creature was at his side and supporting him.

Jou looked up into a familiar blue eye and smiled. "Hey Se'o." Seto's glacial expression softened ever so slightly and he trailed a hand through Jou's blood matted hair. For just a moment Jou allowed himself to lean completely on the dragon. The blonde heard the low grumble begin in Seto's chest and instinctively he knew what it meant.

Massacre.

He pushed away from the dragon to stand on his own, "No Domestic dies."

"Of course not."

QQ

"Roland says Kaiba has entered the place on his own."

Yami turned to the two sitting on the couch. Mokuba had fallen asleep some time earlier, worry and sadness exhausting him and finally dragging him into oblivion. Yugi looked at his lover as he seated himself on the couch next to them once again, his expression was completely devoid of emotion.

"We should probably call Bakura and Marik and inform them of the syndicate."

They shared another long look before Yugi laid his own tired head on his lover's shoulder.

"Let's wait another few minutes," Yugi murmured and Yami smiled, he agreed whole heartedly.

QQ

"You awake?"

Jou groaned at the question and cracked open an eye. "Looks like it," he grumbled and squirmed onto his side. Everything hurt, to varying degrees, but he seemed alive and relatively in one piece.

"Are we home?"

The slight hesitation wasn't lost on Jou, he opened his eyes further. He'd never seen the dragon so dishevelled. His hair was sticking up at all angles and there were dark smudges under his eyes. He also seemed to be naked as did Jou himself. Jou felt a blush start at his toes and slowly work its way upwards as he stared at the naked, muscled torso in front of him.

"Mokuba and I never had a home, when we were adopted by the human Gozaburo Kaiba, I'd hoped it we had found one, but…he forced us – me – to do many things that I didn't want to…things that I still feel guilt ridden over…sometimes I still think that perhaps I don't…" There was an pause and Kaiba was obviously steeling himself, "But no, Mokie assures me, that even I can be forgiven…So I am trying to say…that, this is all we have, but I would like you to be part of our family. If you want you can call this your home too"

Jou blinked rapidly, he would not cry like some silly female. He splayed a hand on Seto's chest to try and compose himself, it didn't seem to be working, but he finally managed to work the words around the lump in his throat.

"Yeah, I'd love tha' in fact."

Seto's chest reverberated with his laughter and he pulled Jou tightly against his chest. Jou lay still in Seto's embrace for a while before he began to squirm slightly.

"Uuummmm, Seto?"

Unfortunately the slow moving blush had finally reached his face and when the dragon looked down the blonde was ruby red of colour. Seto chuckled again and suddenly rolled on top of him. He pressed their bodies together and moved his hips slowly.

Jou was half incredulous, half amused. "A heartfelt confession and now ya think yer gettin in my pants?"

"Well, I'm planning on getting in somewhere," Seto murmured and leaned his forehead against Jou's, "is that a problem?" He decreased his movements and felt the pup squirm beneath him. "It's a problem alright and it ain't going away unless ya move a little faster." Jou breathed against Seto's lips and he dropped his hands onto the dragon's hips. With a sweet smile Seto dropped his head and covered the pup's lips with his own.

QQ

"Mokuba, want to go and see if Kaiba and Jou are awake yet?" Yugi was standing in their kitchen and fixing something to eat. The Mutous had stayed over after Seto had brought Jou home, mostly to keep the younger Kaiba company, but also to hear the full story once the other two were feeling up for it.

Mokuba grinned and jumped up, "Sure!" He shot out of the kitchen, leaving Yami and Yugi to smile at each other, glad to have the teen happy again.

Mokuba tiptoed over to Seto's door and knocked quietly. He waited for moments but no one answered, although he could hear voices inside. Deciding to take the plunge Mokuba opened the door and stepped inside the room.

"Nii-san…"

Even in the dim light Mokuba could make out his brother's form as he was leaning over the pup's backside. For a moment he thought his brother was hurting Jou, until he realised – much too slowly – that the noise he had heard earlier were moans. Jou's moans, in fact and his brother wasn't leaning…he was thrusting. Mokuba snapped the door shut quickly and leaned against it. His eyes were wide with shock and his face beet red. That bloody Nii-san!

Yami leaned around the doorway, "Mokie, are they awake yet?"

Mokuba turned his mortified expression on the purple dragon.

"NO," he grated out, "JUST NO."

Then storming into the kitchen he grabbed each by a hand and dragged them forcefully towards the door.

"We're going to eat out, okay? Don't ask questions, just come with me."

As they were being dragged out of the apartment the trio heard a husky howl sound up from inside the bedroom. The two purple dragons shared a quick glance.

"Eating out sounds great." Yami said quickly.

"Just perfect," Yugi agreed, blushing slightly.

Mokuba didn't bother replying. Seto was gonna pay _so bad_ for this.

*I am aware of this nonwordness, hehe XD

_Well, there ya go, hope you guys enjoyed it :) _

_Please tell me if I happened to use a name or idea of yours, my brain leaks so tend to forget such things. And if you happen to have any questions feel free to drop me a note and I'll answer t to the best of my abilities._


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